Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering

Research Focus

Signature research areas

In pursuit of its mission of transforming and improving the healthcare system, RCHE focuses its research in key areas of national importance where RCHE and Purdue research expertise is best positioned to make a positive impact. With input from partners, professional organizations, researchers, and providers, RCHE has selected the following research foci:

Innovative projects

While the majority of RCHE research is concentrated in the focus areas listed above, the center also recognizes the need to support and encourage innovative research projects. Healthcare systems projects targeting improvements in one of the six aims but outside of the RCHE priority focus areas may be considered for RCHE funding.

﻿Care Coordination

Care coordination among providers and patients is essential in creating better quality of care and more patient-centered care. Care coordination is the marshalling of personnel and other resources needed to support a continuous healing environment, enabled by integrated clinical services and characterized by the proactive delivery of evidence-based care and follow-up.

The National Partnership for Priorities estimates that patients with chronic conditions may have up to 16 different healthcare providers. Electronic health records will assist in improving care coordination but there are many other opportunities to coordinate care and engage patients in their healthcare. In particular, RCHE is interested in pursuit research projects that aim to improve care coordination in the primary care setting and for patients with chronic diseases.

Projects in care coordination have focused on:

Physician-patient communication

Scheduling

The patient-centered medical home

Health information technology

Faculty working on care coordination projects have represented areas such as nursing, ITaP, human development and family sciences, biomedical engineering, management operations, and communication.

﻿Population Health

In the population health focus area, RCHE seeks to apply advancements found to be beneficial on the individual patient level to improve the care of larger population-level groups. Population health refers to the wellbeing of a population and the art and science of predicting and preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private; communities and individuals.

Population health research aims to understand and improve the health of a population. It seeks to step beyond an individual-level focus to address equitable health outcomes on a population-level. It involves predicting and preventing disease, prolonging quality of life, and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, communities, and individuals.

Projects in population health have focused on:

Health disparities and access to care

Older adults and at-home care use

Faculty working on population health research have represented areas such as public health, consumer science, sociology, communication, family science, computer science, operational research, and nursing.